God in His perfection cannot allow us as Christians to misrepresent Him, His Word, or His ways in any way. As a righteous, Holy, pure God, He has to bring discipline or judgment if we do this. The story of Moses in the Old Testament is one from which we can learn.
When the people lacked water in the wilderness, God told Moses to strike the rock and He would bring forth water. 1
Corinthians 10:4 tells us, “All drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ.” But it happened a second time that the people complained, needing water. This time, God told Moses to speak to the rock, but, out of anger, He struck the rock. God could not allow Moses to misrepresent Him to His people, so Moses was rebuked by God and was not allowed to go into the Promised Land. This was a sad day for Moses! His words cut to the heart in Deuteronomy 3:26, “But the Lord was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me. So the Lord said to me, ‘Enough of that! Speak no more to me of this matter.’” It’s hard to imagine how it felt for Moses to hear these words from God.
As Christians, we are ambassadors of Christ, representing Him in a lost world. We have to be careful of our words and
actions by tapping into the Rock and being led by His Spirit. We need His help daily to do this; He is our supply.
When Jesus ministered on this earth, he explained, “‘…I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what He sees the father doing.’” And in John 12:49 Jesus says, “‘I don’t speak on my own authority. The father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it.’” If Jesus relied on the Father to this extent, we would be wise to do the same.
Thank you, God, for this example of Jesus, the Perfect Lamb of God, tapping into Your wisdom and power. Thank you, that as ambassadors for you, You give us Your Word and Your Spirit to help us, so we do not misrepresent you. Thank you that one day You will take us into our promised land of Heaven!